169 - Michael Graziano: The Attention Schema Theory of Consciousness

Michael Graziano is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Princeton University, where he and his lab research the brain basis of consciousness. Naturally, this is precisely what Michael and Robinson discuss in this episode. More particularly, they get into the philosophical question of what consciousness is, the roles of philosophy and science in answering the same, and whether or not there are deep, intractable issues here. Then they turn to Michael’s theory of consciousness—the Attention Schema Theory—in which consciousness is a way in which the brain models attention to better organize and monitor it. Michael’s most recent book is Rethinking Consciousness (W. W. Norton, 2019).

Rethinking Consciousness: https://a.co/d/8euR1EL

Graziano Lab: https://grazianolab.princeton.edu

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:55 Introduction

02:56 Getting Started in Consciousness

07:18 The Dialogue Between Science and Philosophy on Consciousness

13:05 What Are We Talking About When We Talk About Consciousness

25:38 What is Consciousness?

32:25 What Are Cognitive Models?

36:45 What Is The Meta-Problem of Consciousness?

48:24 How Does a Neuroscientist Think of Attention?

59:39 The Attention Schema Theory of Consciousness

01:17:46 Neural Correlates of Consciousness 

01:28:47 Magical” Theories of Consciousness

01:35:03 Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness

01:43:44 Fiction and Music

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.